Nagaland IAS officer suspended amid criminal probe into sexual harassment case

Reny Wilfred, posted as secretary in the state’s Finance department, came under scrutiny after Nagaland State Commission for Women filed a sexual harassment complaint

Kohima: An Indian administrative service (IAS) officer from Nagaland was suspended by the state government on Wednesday after a criminal investigation was initiated into a sexual harassment complaint filed against him.

AFP file photo/ Representational imageIn February, the NSCW reportedly met several victims of alleged sexual harassment, all of whom were working under Wilfred at the investment and development authority of Nagaland.

The IAS officer has denied the sexual harassment charges against him.

A case against Reny Wilfred, who was posted as secretary in the state’s Finance department, is underway under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of women, chief secretary J Alam said in a suspension order issued on Wednesday.

“Therefore, the government of Nagaland has placed Reny Wilfred, IAS under suspension w.e.f. 21.05.2025 vide Order No.PAR-A/06/2021-AIS, dated 21.05.2025,” the order read.

The IAS officer came under scrutiny after the Nagaland State Commission for Women (NSCW) filed a sexual harassment complaint against him at the state police headquarters, prompting the police to register a first information report (FIR) against him in April this year.

The officer is already on trial in a separate sexual abuse case involving two minor girls from Nagaland’s Noklak district, where he had previously served as deputy commissioner from 2020 to 2021.

In February, the NSCW reportedly met several victims of alleged sexual harassment, all of whom were working under Wilfred at the investment and development authority of Nagaland (IDAN), where he was then holding additional charge as joint secretary of IDAN. The state government had relieved him of the additional charge on April 4. Subsequently, the police registered an FIR at the state crime cell and set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the allegations further.

Denying the sexual harassment charges against him in April, the IAS officer accused the state women’s commission of bias in the way the case was filed. He claimed to have evidence that the employees were “forced or coerced” to file the complaints, which he said would be submitted to the court.